Price Paid:  $260.00 from Etronics.com

Summary:
This is a very solid entry model for people who want accurate, solid sound but don't have a lot of money. If I had to purchase it again, I would, but I would probably pay a bit extra to get it from an authorized reseller. Denon has an incredibly high build quality, but knowing that their excellent customer service would be behind my product would have been even more assurance. It has nice power (can't get above -10 in my room without hurting my ears, and it goes to +5) and nice features for a 5.1 receiver. Since most entry level systems won't greatly benefit from rear surrounds, and next to no discs are actually encoded this way, I think the 683 stands up well to its current model the 684 or 1604, as the 6th channel does not in my opinion justify the slight loss in power, which if you have a larger room can be more tangible. The features are great (good outputs/inputs, settings, DD, DTS, DPLII) and the setup is very straightforward. Coupled with Denon sound and build quality and you have what is in my opinion the best budget receiver out there.

Strengths:
High quality Denon sound High quality Denon build Good Features Good Inputs/Outputs for the Price Range

Weaknesses:
Pre-Outs to all channels (rather than just subwoofer) would have been nice, but understandable for a budget unit.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer VSX-D811S Yamaha HTR-5460